The Black Rider
by Shadowfax lord of horses
Summary: The year is 2013, 24 January 2013. I am currently in the mountains, in a place once named Rivendell. I am hiding, hiding from the rider clothed in black.
1. Chapter 1

The year is 2013, 24 January 2013. I am currently in the mountains, in a place once named Rivendell. I am hiding, hiding from the rider clothed in black.

My name is Elowyn, Elowyn Arwen Josephs. I am thirteen years old, and human. I lived in a place called Ayrshire, on the outskirts of a town called Ayr, but of course that all changed. The night I discovered my heritage.

The night started out like any other, a harsh winter's wind battering the trees, the tiny flakes of snow, just visible in the small beams of light that had so cleverly escaped the the shutter's barricade. The house was chilly, the central heating unable to vanquish the brutal force of winter. I had been sitting on the sofa, wrapped up in a thick woolen blanket, my fingers tracing its embroidered dragon patterns, thinking how wonderful it would be to be able to fly, to soar among the clouds without a care in the world. The ping of the microwave alerted me my hot chocolate was ready, leaving the blanket on the sofa, I walked into the kitchen.

The doorbell rang, and hot chocolate in one hand, I answered it, seeing the shadowy figure of my mother, standing in the porch, just out of reach of the snow's icy fingers. She looked cold and out of breath, as if she had just run a long way, she kept glancing over her shoulder, muttering things that didn't really make any sense.

Things like "She's too young..." Or "They all died long ago, what could she do..." And "I couldn't let her..." The last one made me shudder. "He said I had no choice."

When I asked her what was wrong, she replied again with anweres that made no sense.

"Nothing Dear, nothing that Gandalf can't handle, Sauron was stopped long ago, Aragorn and Arwen made sure he would never rise again."

Gandalf, Sauron, Aragorn? Arwen was my middle name, had I been named after someone? I had just thought it was an unusual name my mother and father liked, but maybe not.

My mother looked at me, a slightly horrified expression on her face, as if she was regretting what she had just said.

"Nothing to worry about Elly." She had told me reasuringly.

But I had a feeling she was just saying that to comfort herself, more than me.

"Who is Arwen?" I asked her.

"Arwen? That's your middle name."

"But you said Arwen, you said Arwen and Argon stopped some Sauron person from rising again, who are they mum?"

"They are no-one, no-one important."

I heard footsteps coming up the pathway, the already lying snow crunching noisily.

"No, not now, she's not ready, you can't really expect her to, can you?" My mother muttered to no-one in particular. She put her head in her hands.

"Elowyn Arwen Josephs, I think its time I told you the truth."


	2. Chapter 2

The truth, something I discoved that had been held from me for a long while. That almost everything I knew was a lie.

"Elly, I did not want to tell you this, but there is a lot more to our ancestors and family than you know. I with-held this information for fear of endangering you, but I now fear it is too late to worry about that now." She said gravely.

"What sort of information mum?"

"It started long ago, in a place named Middle Earth, there was a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, he lived a very ordinary and peaceful life, he was content, and did not any unexpected jourenys or adventures. But that all changed one day in late April, when a wizard named Gandalf The Grey turned up on his doorstep, with the offer of adventure, reminding him of the boy he once was, who would do anything for a quest. He invited Gandalf to tea the following week, hoping he would be too far away to attend. But Gandalf returned, accompanied by thirteen dwarves, led by Thorin Oakensheild. They were Dwalin, Balin, Gloin, Fili, Kili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Bifur, Bombur, and Bofur. Bilbo Baggins was then horrified to discover he was included in the quest to regain Thorin's kingdom and treasure from the dragon Smaug. The expedition traveled east along the Great Road. By early June they had reached Rivendell, having encountered Orcs and aTrolls on the way. Here Thorin and Gandalf discovered directions to a secret entrance in the misty mountains, written in moon letters on an old map. After about a fortnight in Rivendell, they left to attempt to cross the Misty Mountains. One Monday evening, after they had left Rivendell far behind, the incident that made Bilbo's adventure truly extraordinary began to unfold. In a mountain pass, the expedition was ambushed and captured by a band of goblins. Taken underground into the Chamber of the Great Goblin, Bilbo and the dwarves had another narrow escape. This time Gandalf rescued them amidst lightning and explosions, which killed the Great Goblin."

"Oh that sounds such fun." I said, wishing that had been me. The footsteps outside had paused, as if waiting for the story to finnish.

"Hmm, well I don't think it sounds that fun." My mother replied.

"How not?" I asked her, but she was starting her tale again.

"Pursued by angry goblins, Gandalf led the company toward an exit from beneath the mountains. But the goblins managed to overtake the fleeing dwarves and in the ensuing struggle Bilbo hit his head on a rock and rolled out of the way. There he remained for some time."

"Oh." I muttered.

"Finally, he awoke and found himself alone. Following a tunnel for some distance, Bilbo reached a cold, dank, underground lake, from which there soon emerged a slimy creature with large, pale eyes. This was Gollum, who for ages had eaten orcs and any other creatures who happened to stray near his pool. Furthermore, his natural cunning was supplemented by his ownership of a magic ring, which rendered him invisible. As luck would have it, this was exactly the ring which Bilbo had slipped into his pocket. If Gollum had had his ring with him, he would have made short work of Bilbo Baggins. As it was, he had to stall for time, so he challenged Bilbo to a riddle game. If Bilbo won, Gollum agreed to show his opponent the way out of the mountain. If Gollum were the victor, he would feast on hobbit."

"Oh what happened next?"

"Wait and see."

"After several rounds, Bilbo could think of no further riddles and asked Gollum to guess what was in his pocket. Gollum thought this hardly fair, and returned to his island to put on his ring and finish off his prey. When he discovered that it was missing, Gollum guessed the riddle's answer too late. Bilbo put on the ring and vanished. Gollum could not finh him, so Bilbo made his way out of the mountains and surprised the dwarves by appearing again in their midst. In the last week of autumn, they discovered the secret door described in the moon-letters of Throrin's map. This paved the way for Bilbo's part of the expedition to begin. On the same day, the now invisible hobbit entered the Cave of Smaug and conversed with the dragon."

"Dragons can speak?!"

"Yes, they can, now be quiet and listen."

"Yes mum."

"Unfortunately Bilbo let the location of his secret tunnel slip, and Smaug flew out to try to catch the dwarves by surprise. The ponies fell victim to the fire of the dragon, but Bilbo managed to lead the dwarves into safety. The next day Bilbo returned to Smaug's lair. This time he infuriated Smaug, who flew off to destroy Lake-town. Though he did set the town afire, the sharp eye of Bard the Bowman spied the single weak spot in Smaug's armor. His arrow found its mark, and Smaug fell to his death in the Long Lake."

"Thats good."

"But the dwarves were not to get their treasure easily. The wood-elves and the Lake-men expected their share, and sent armies to back up their demands. Despite the numbers, Thorin refused to divide up his new wealth, and the dwarves were reinforced by their kinsmen from the Iron Hills. A major battle between the elves and men on one side and the dwarves on the other appeared imminent when Gandalf came to warn of a greater disaster at hand: an army of orcs was bearing down on them all. The battle went for hours, and during the fighting Bilbo tried as much as possible to stay invisible. Despite heroics on all sides, Thorin was mortally injured, and it took the intervention of the eagles and Beorn to defeat the orcs. At last, the quest seemed to be over. Thorin was buried under the mountain, and his kinsman Dain rebuilt the kingdom of Erebor. Bard became king of Dale, and Bilbo slowly made his way back to Hobbiton, and finally walked up the path to Bag End on June 22, 2942,"

"Is that the end?"

"No, it has barely began."

"Oh."

"Only to find his possessions about to be put up for auction by the Sackville-Bagginses. After all this was straightened out and he was finally settled in, Bilbo developed a reputation as one of the Shire's most wealthy and citizens."

"That..." I was cut off by my mother before I could continue.

"Many years later Bilbo Baggins threw a party for himself and Frodo. At the party, Bilbo announced that he was leaving his home to Frodo. He returned home and was met by his close friend Gandalf. Gandalf insists that Bilbo remove the Ring, and give it to his young heir. The Ring has special powers, the most obvious of which is to make the wearer invisible. Then Bilbo disappears. For many years Frodo lives in Bilbo's home at Bag End. Just like Bilbo, Frodo appears not to he aged. In his fifties, he grows restless. One day Gandalf comes to Frodo and tells him that he is in danger. It seems that the Ring originally belonged to Sauron, the Dark Lord. Sauron wants the Ring back so he can conquer the world. Sauron is using Gollum to find out who has it and where it can be located. Gandalf tells Frodo that the ring is a corrupting power, and that anyone who uses it will ultimately be destroyed by it. He tells Frodo also that the Ring can only be destroyed by tossing it into a volcano at Mount Orodruin. Frodo tries to give the ring to Gandalf, but the wizard tells him that Frodo was chosen to bear the responsibility. It is decided that Frodo will take the ring to the Crack of Doom in Mount Orodruin. He is to be accompanied by his friends Sam, Merry, and Pippin. As they travel, the Black Riders of Sauron pursue them. The Black Riders are bodiless horsemen who want the Ring. The travelers meet up with Aragorn, a friend of Gandalf, and together they continue their journey with the aid of some new companions. Gandalf leads the companions through the mines of Moria. Gandalf battles a dreadful spirit and falls into an abyss. Aragorn becomes the leader. After many small battles, the company realizes their task will be very difficult. They meet Lady Galadriel, of the elves, and are given some assistance. Boromir, a representative from Gondor, tries to persuade Frodo to give him the Ring to take to his father and thus defeat their enemies. Frodo refuses and the two men fight. Frodo must use the Ring to escape Boromir. Boromir is instantly sorry he has been overcome by the allure of power. Frodo decides to travel alone, fearful of the consequences of his friends being corrupted. Only faithful Sam is allowed to accompany him."

"But waht does this have to do with me?" I asked.

"Meanwhile, Gandalf has come back from death as Gandalf the White. He approaches Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas and tells them what has happened to him. He introduces them to King Theoden of Edoras. Together Gandalf and his men join Theoden in fighting the orcs and looking for Merry and Pippin. Along the way they defeat Saruman, who has been causing trouble and impeding Frodo in his quest."

"Yeah but."

"Sam and Frodo are still making their way to the Crack of Doom. Gollum, who still craves the Ring, follows them. They capture Gollum and try to persuade him to forsake his evil and return to his old likable self as the character Smeagol. The three make their way through the forest until they are met by an army from Gondor, led by Faramir brother of Boromir. When Faramir releases them, Gollum leads Sam and Frodo into a trap, the lair of the giant spider Shelob. Frodo is wounded so badly that Sam fears he is dead. Gollum disappears. Sam decides to take the Ring and continue on in order to destroy it and fulfil Frodo's responsibility. Orcs come along and steal Frodo's lifeless body. By listening to the orcs, Sam discovers that Frodo is not dead but is merely drugged. He follows them to save his friend. Gandalf and Pippin arrive in Gondor, where they meet Denethor father of Boromir and Faramir. Aragorn has revealed himself to Sauron and decides to travel ahead through the Paths of the Dead in order to reach Sauron quickly and thereby assist Frodo and Sam. Eowyn,

"That's my name."

"No Eowyn, not Elowyn."

"Oh."

"Eowyn the niece of Theoden, begs to be taken along but Aragorn refuses. He goes to the Paths of the Dead and offers the dead peace if they will fulfill their promise to fight against Sauron. Theoden, meanwhile, receives an urgent message to help Denethor at Minas Tirith. He refuses to let Merry join him, but Merry is offered a ride by a rider named Dernhelm. Denethor is displeased with his younger son Faramir for having helped the Ring bearer rather than claiming the Ring for Gondor. He sends his son into battle, and when Faramir is seriously wounded, his repentant father goes mad with grief. He tries to set himself and his son's body on fire. Gandalf removes Faramir from the funeral pyre, but Denethor sets himself alight and dies. Merry and Pippin are reunited and Aragorn heals Merry, Eowyn and Faramir. The army then moves out to Mordor, where an emissary of Sauron produces Frodo's cloak and sword saying that if the troops do not withdraw, Frodo will be tortured. Gandalf snatches the objects from him and another war begins. Pippin saves Beregond from a troll, but faints just as the eagles come to their rescue. Sam rescues Frodo and they make their way toward Mount Doom. Gollum, however, overtakes them and just as Frodo comes to the Cracks of Doom, Gollum obtains the Ring biting off his finger. Gollum is so excited about having the Ring back that he falls into the abyss, carrying the Ring with him. Mount Doom erupts with the force of the destroyed Ring. Sauron is defeated for good.

The eagles rescue Sam and Frodo from the erupting volcano. Arwen marries Aragorn. The company then goes to Rohan for Theoden's funeral, and then Gandalf and the hobbits begin their journey home. On they way back they make their way to Rivendell, where they meet Bilbo. After this the hobbits reach the Shire, which has been completely transformed by Saruman and his servants. It is a barren wasteland. They restore the Shire with some help from Lady Galadriel. Gandalf, Frodo and Galadriel accompany Bilbo to the Grey Havens. Sam, Merry and Pippin return to live a full life in Hobbiton."

"Wow, if only I could go on an adventure like that."

"Watch what you wish for." Says a voice from the corner.

**_Not the most exciting chapter in the world, but she needed to understand, it will pick up soon. Thank you to those who reveiwed, and I hope this will continue to live up to your expectations._**

**_Shadowfax._**


End file.
